Public Anger after Gang Beat Up French Sunbather for Wearing a Bikini in Reims Park

THE INDEPENDENT: Authorities have not identified the attackers but most commentators have assumed that they were Muslims

French social networks exploded with anger after a young woman was reportedly beaten up by a gang of girls and young women for wearing a bikini in a park.

Authorities have not identified the attackers but most commentators have assumed that they were Muslims. » | John Lichfield | Sunday, July 26, 2015

Obama Performs Traditional Lipala Dance During Kenyan State Dinner

US president Barack Obama joins in the Lipala during a dinner at Nairobi's State House. The Lipala is a traditional dance which was updated by popular Kenyan band Sauti Sol earlier this year, becoming a dancehall hit. The band posted the footage online after playing the track as the entire top table including Obama, Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta, first lady Margaret Kenyatta and US national security adviser Susan Rice danced

Saudi Official Calls on International Community to Criminalize Criticism of Islam

JIHAD WATCH: “This requires everyone to intensify efforts to criminalize insulting heavenly religions, prophets, holy books, religious symbols and places of worship.” What is wrong with this? Who wants to insult “heavenly religions, prophets, holy books, religious symbols and places of worship,” anyway?

One problem with it, among many, is that at a time when hatred and violence are being preached and perpetrated in the name of a “heavenly religion” and justified by reference to a “holy book,” to criminalize criticism of such things would be tantamount to muzzling all resistance to that hatred and violence. And that may be precisely the agenda.

“Criminalize vilification of religious symbols, says Saudi official,” Saudi Gazette, July 26, 2015: » | Robert Spencer | Sunday, July 26, 2015

Hundreds Gather to Watch Islamic State Throw 'Gay' Man to His Death

The man was condemned to death after being accused of being gay

SUNDAY EXPRESS: SHOCKING pictures have emerged showing hundreds of people waiting to watch Islamic State (ISIS) militants brutally punish a man accused of being gay.

The horrific new images show the levels of depravity reached by the terror group, who are known for killing homosexual people by throwing them off buildings.

This latest insight into the workings of the extremist organisation shows hundreds of people gathered in the main street of Mosul in Iraq.

They are joined by ISIS jihadis, all dressed in black and white, as a judge reads out a statement which condemns a man to death for allegedly being gay.

In an attempt to publicise the brutal murder, the judge can reportedly be seen making his speech through a microphone system to the blood-thirsty crowd.

The majority of the people gathered were apparently carrying weapons - with even small children wearing ISIS clothing also seen in the street.

A final picture from the heinous scene shows the broken and motionless body of the man on the concrete floor after being pushed from the top of a building.

It is unclear how ISIS discovered the sexuality of the man. » | Levi Winchester | Sunday, July 26, 2015

The West Likes to Think That 'Civilisation' Will Defeat Isis, But History Suggests Otherwise

THE INDEPENDENT: We cling to our belief that barbarism will never outlast the power of the righteous

Hitler set a bad example. He was evil. His regime was evil. His Reich was destroyed, the Nazis vanquished, the Fuhrer dying by his own hand in the ashes of the European nightmare. Bad guys lose. Good guys win. Morality, human rights, law, democracy – though with the latter, we should perhaps speak carefully – will always prevail over wickedness. That’s what the Second World War taught us.

We have grown up in a Western society that believes in such simple, dodgy, history lessons. The world’s major religions teach us about goodness, humility, family, love, faith. So why should we not – however liberal, agnostic, cynical – cling on to our fundamental belief that violence and torture and cruelty will never outlast the power and courage of the righteous?

Isis is evil. It massacres its opponents, slaughters civilians, beheads the innocent, rapes children and enslaves women. It is “apocalyptic”, according to the Americans, and therefore it is doomed. Better still, Ash Carter – the US Secretary of Defence who accused the Iraqis of running away from Isis – lectured the Iraqi Prime Minister last week. His message – I could hardly believe this naivety – was Hollywood-clear. “Civilisation always wins over barbarism.” » | Robert Fisk | Sunday, July 26, 2015

The Greek Debt Crisis Threatens 70 Years of Peace

THE INDEPENDENT: We forget that wars in Europe were the norm before the EU

Political crises in the Middle East and North Africa since 2011 have either produced extreme violence or caused countries to dissolve into civil war. The territorial settlement that followed the defeat of the Ottomans in 1918 is collapsing, but there is no clear sign of what will replace it, other than conflicts which nobody knows how to end.

Bad though this is, the world has got used to instability in the Middle East and North Africa, almost as if it were a natural phenomenon like earthquakes in Japan or hurricanes in the Caribbean. Seven wars are being fought in Muslim countries between Pakistan and north-east Nigeria. In Europe, on the contrary, 70 years of almost continuous peace since 1945 have convinced its people that this is the natural order of things which will continue despite hiccups in atypical places such as Greece and Ukraine.

But peace in Europe has been very much the exception over the past 1,500 years and there is no God-given guarantee it will continue. The golden age of European integration may have ended as long ago as 2008 when the financial crash began to divide eurozone members into winners and losers. In the same year, the easy dominance of the Western powers established after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 began to look less absolute when Russia invaded Georgia. » | Patrick Cockburn | Saturday, July 25, 2015

Barack Obama: I'm Proud to Be the First Kenyan-American President

Barack Obama told crowds gathered in Nairobi he was proud to be the first Kenyan-American president

Read the Telegraph article here | Telegraph Video, and AFP, video source ITN | Sunday, July 26, 2015

Ex-Muslim: Leaving Islam - BBC News

Islam is the fastest growing religion in the UK, with the number of Muslims almost doubling in the last few years from 1.5 million in 2001 to 2.71 million in the latest census, 2011. A small but increasing number of people are also choosing to leave the religion and many say doing so has led them to be rejected by their family and friends and - in some cases - threatened with violence. Benjamin Zand spoke to ex-Muslims.

Petition as French Riviera Beach Closed for Saudi King

BBC AMERICA: More than 100,000 people have signed a petition against the closure of a beach on the French Riviera to allow Saudi King Salman to holiday in private.

The petition insists the public beach in Vallauris should be "available for the benefit of all".

Authorities sealed off the beach early on Saturday to prevent any protesters from occupying it as King Salman was due to arrive in the area.

The Saudi monarch is expected to stay at his villa for three weeks.

He and his entourage of about 1,000 people arrived at Nice airport on Saturday on board two Saudi Arabian Airlines Boeing 747s.

The king's inner circle is staying at the villa - between Antibes and Marseille - while about 700 others will stay at hotels in Cannes.

Michel Chevillon, president of an association of Cannes' hotel managers, said the visit was "clearly good news" for hotels and the local economy.

"These are people with great purchasing power," he said.

However, the closure of a section of La Mirandole beach beneath the king's villa has outraged many local residents. » | Saturday, July 25, 2015

Related »

Barack Obama Tells African States to Abandon Anti-gay Discrimination

THE GUARDIAN: Visiting his father’s Kenyan homeland, US president says ‘bad things happen’ when governments get into habit of treating people differently

The US president, Barack Obama, has launched an unprecedented defence of gay rights in Africa, telling Kenya’s president that the state has no right to punish people because of “who they love”.

Obama, visiting his late father’s homeland for the first time as US president, confronted Uhuru Kenyatta and millions of Kenyans watching on television with his “unequivocal” views. Homosexual acts are illegal in Kenya and surveys show nine in 10 people find them unacceptable.

Obama personalised the issue by comparing homophobia to racial discrimination that he had encountered in the United States. Never before has such a powerful foreign leader challenged Africans so directly on their own soil. » | David Smith in Nairobi | Saturday, July 25, 2015

Origins of ISIS – Special Coverage

In a special report, RT America examines the origins, power and expansion of the terrorist group known as the Islamic State (IS, formerly known as ISIS). RT’s Ben Swann delves into the roots of the organization while Ameera David explains how the group amasses the millions of dollars it requires to operate. Finally, Manuel Rapalo explores how the Iraqi army fell apart despite benefiting from billions of dollars of US money – and military hardware – meant to ensure security.

Why Is ISIS Attacking During Ramadan? BBC News (June 2015)

Maajid Nawaz from the Quilliam Foundation describes the reasons why ISIS may have decided to execute attack during the holy month of Ramadan.

Obama's Visit Sparks Debate on Gay Rights in Kenya, Africa

One particular issue has been gripping many Kenyans in recent days. Just what is Barack Obama going to say about gay rights? As in much of Africa, homosexuality is widely frowned upon in Kenya. Some MPs have warned the American president to avoid the matter. But Obama's reportedly said, he will indeed be raising the issue when he's here. CCTV's Kathryn Ogunde has more…

Press Conference in Kenya: Obama and Kenyatta on State of Gay Rights in Kenya (July 25, 2015)

President Barack Obama – Full Interview – BBC News

In a wide-ranging interview with the BBC's North American Editor Jon Sopel, US President Barack Obama said a lack of changes on US gun laws was the "greatest frustration" of his presidency. Mr Obama also told the BBC what he will say about gay rights in Kenya, why his own Congress and the Gulf nations should accept the recent Iran nuclear deal, and what he expects his legacy as president will be.

Obama Admits US Gun Laws Are His 'Biggest Frustration'

BBC AMERICA: President Barack Obama has admitted that his failure to pass "common sense gun safety laws" in the US is the greatest frustration of his presidency.

In an interview with the BBC, Mr Obama said it was "distressing" not to have made progress on the issue "even in the face of repeated mass killings".

He vowed to keep trying, but the BBC's North America editor Jon Sopel said the president did not sound very confident.

However, Mr Obama said race relations had improved during his presidency.

Hours after the interview, a gunman opened fire at a cinema in the US state of Louisiana, killing two people and injuring several others before shooting himself.

In a wide-ranging interview, President Obama also said: » | Friday, July 24, 2015

Muslim Smashes Wine Bottles in Paris Market to Enforce Sharia

Read the Jihad Watch article here | Robert Spencer | Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Barack Obama Says Britain Must Stay in EU

THE TELEGRAPH: US president says Britain is 'best partner', but risks losing its influence on the world stage if it leaves the European Union

Barack Obama has said that Britain must stay in the European Union to continue to have a strong influence on the world stage.

The US president said that Britain was America’s “best and most important partner” because of its willingness to go beyond its "immediate self-interests to make this a more orderly, safer world".

But in his strongest warning to date, he said that for Britain to maintain its global influence, it must stay within the EU.

The EU has "made the world safer and more prosperous", and having Britain in it was crucial for America’s “transatlantic union” both with Britain and the rest of Europe, he said.

“(The EU) is part of the cornerstone of institutions built after World War Two that has made the world safer and more prosperous. » | Barney Henderson, New York | Thursday, July 23, 2015

Iran Nuclear Deal with US Sees Thousands Protest in Times Square

Protesters rally against the US nuclear deal with Iran
in New York's Times Square on 22 July.

THE GUARDIAN: An estimated 10,000 people, consisting mainly of pro-Israel supporters, chant ‘kill the deal’ and demand Congress vote down proposed nuclear agreement

Thousands of protesters packed into Times Square on Wednesday evening to demand that Congress vote down the proposed US deal with Iran.

As the crowd loomed behind police barricades, chants of “Kill the deal!” could be heard for blocks. The event, billed as the “Stop Iran rally” consisted mainly of pro-Israel supporters, though organizers said it represents Americans of all faiths and political convictions.

The group is asking Congress to reject the deal under which the US would agree to lift economic sanctions against Iran in return for measures to prevent the country from building nuclear weapons. » | Associated Press | Wednesday, July 22, 2015

‘World’s Oldest Qur’an’ Fragments Found at University of Birmingham

The discovery of one of the oldest fragments of the Qur'an at the University of Birmingham is hailed as a historic find of 'global significance'. Radiocarbon analysis has dated the parchment between AD568 and 645. David Thomas, professor of Christianity and Islam at the University of Birmingham, says the results suggest the manuscript was written less than 20 years after the death of the prophet Muhammad


JIHAD WATCH: Oldest Qur’an fragments in the world discovered in the UK? Maybe, maybe not » | Robert Spencer | Wednesday, July 22, 2015

BBC AMERICA: » | Sean Coughlan, Education correspondent | Wednesday, July 22, 2015